Boog Powell powers A’s past Astros with late heroics

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Oakland Athletics' Jed Lowrie, center, is mobbed by teammates after making the game winning hit against the Houston Astros in the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Collin McHugh #31 of the Houston Astros pitches against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on September 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run off of Jharel Cotton #45 of the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on September 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros is congratulated by George Springer #4 and Josh Reddick #22 after hitting a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on September 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros hits a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on September 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run off of Collin McHugh #31 of the Houston Astros during the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on September 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

Houston Astros' Yuli Gurriel (10) celebrates with Carlos Correa, right, after hitting a two-run home run off Oakland Athletics' Jharel Cotton in the third inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Oakland Athletics' Matt Chapman, right, celebrates with third base coach Steve Scarsone (15) after hitting a two-run home run off Houston Astros pitcher Collin McHugh in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Marcus Semien is congratulated by third base coach Steve Scarsone after hitting a grand slam for the A's in the seventh inning Friday. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)6

OAKLAND — Boog Powell has been doing his best to secure a spot as the A’s starting center fielder in 2018. He’s got some competition, but he secured a spot in the hearts of 12,288 fans at the Coliseum with one swing of the bat.

After Blake Treinen surrendered the go-ahead run on an RBI double to Josh Reddick in the ninth, Powell led off the bottom half with a game-tying solo shot off Astros closer Ken Giles to set the A’s up for an eventual 9-8 walk-off victory on Friday night.

The fans in Oakland were sent into a frenzy, letting out a huge ‘Boog!’ chant as Powell rounded the bases and crossed home plate.

“That was one of the most amazing things of my career right there,” Powell said. “So far.”

Facing a closer who routinely touches 98 to 100 on the radar gun, home run was the last thing on Powell’s mind. After falling behind in the count 0-2, Powell took advantage of a breaking ball that went right over the heart of the plate.

“I was just looking to get on base,” Powell said. “I knew he had that heater and I was just trying to go the other way with it. He threw the slider and left one out.”

Powell capped off an impressive night that saw him go 2 for 4 at the plate and make a spectacular catch in center field that also proved to be a game-saver.

Already trailing 2-0 in the second, Powell raced back on a deep fly ball hit by Marwin Gonzalez and timed a leap at the wall perfectly to rob Gonzalez of a home run.

“We knew he played the game really hard,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s played a really good center field for us. He goes back and robs a homer and when you have a close game like that, those plays are significant. Certainly leading off the ninth with a home run against a pretty darn good closer made it a nice night for him.”

A single by Marcus Semien and a Matt Joyce walk after Powell’s homer set it up for Jed Lowrie, who delivered the final blow with a single to left that drove in Semien from second and sent everyone home with a smile on their face.

Semien’s recent adjustments at the plate had been resulting improvements in all facets of his offensive game except for one category — Power.

The A’s shortstop who hit 27 home runs last year entered Friday’s game not having homered since Aug. 16. While the power has been missing as of late for Semien, it returned just when the A’s needed it against the Astros.

Semien blasted a game-tying grand slam off Luke Gregerson in the seventh to erase what was a 7-3 deficit.

While it was Lowrie who ended up getting pied in the face after it was all over, he did not let the late-inning heroics overshadow what could have been the at-bat of the night from Semien against a tough reliever. Gregerson had entered the night having allowed just four home runs to right-handed batters on the season in 53 ⅔ innings.

“That was a huge momentum swing,” Lowrie said. “Off a guy who as a righty I can’t imagine is a comfortable at-bat. He’s been throwing that hard slider and I can’t imagine he’s given up too many like that. That was a great at-bat by Marcus.”

The A’s loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh after a leadoff walk by Bruce Maxwell was followed by consecutive singles from Matt Chapman and Powell. Semien then roped a 2-2 slider from Gregerson over the left field wall to tie it at 7-7 for just his sixth home run of the season and second of the grand slam variety.

Semien has seen an impressive increase in his batting average and on base percentage since returning from wrist surgery, but it felt good for him to see one of his hits finally go over the fence again.

“That’s what last year I did a lot more of. I’m just trying to hit the ball hard,” Semien said. “When you get pitches to drive out of the ballpark it’s always nice to do it. It just hasn’t been happening as often this year.”

A’s manager Bob Melvin has been expecting Semien’s power to return at some point. No matter how many more he hits from now until the end of the season, Melvin is pleased with Semien’s overall improvements, including on the bases which he displayed with some heads-up baserunning to score from second on Lowrie’s short single to left.

“Marcus’ power obviously is down a little bit but he hits a grand slam today and the timing couldn’t have been better,” Melvin said. “He’s been getting on base and laying off a few more pitches that maybe he swings at before.”

The slam was also the 200th home run of the season for the A’s, giving their fifth-highest output in club history. They have been on on a power surge over the last nine games, homering 23 times over that span.

The A’s hope for Jharel Cotton to turn things around still has not happened, and at this point it has to be a concern.

The rookie served up three home runs and was shelled for a total of seven runs in five innings. He is now allowing more than two home runs per nine innings with 27 in 119 innings this season. The 27 allowed also tied Cotton for the most by an A’s rookie since Trevor Cahill in 2009.

“He’s got to get the ball down. He has to keep the ball in the ballpark,” Melvin said.

Chapman got the A’s on the board in the second with a two-run home run off Collin McHugh. Joyce also homered off McHugh in the third with a solo shot.

NOTES

— Jake Smolinski has already had an at-bat since returning from the disabled list, but he has still been limited on the defensive side of things as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Smolinski made significant progress in his recovery before Friday’s game as he threw the ball 135 feet from the outfield to the bases.

While Sept. 15 was the target date for Smolinksi to play in the outfield again, Melvin has been surprised with how quickly he’s been improving.

“He’ll return somewhere around the middle of the month so he could potentially get in the outfield the last couple of weeks of the season,” Melvin said. “That’s a big step for him.”

— A dollar from every ticket sold in the series against Houston will be donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

Martin Gallegos is a multimedia beat reporter covering the Oakland Athletics. A native of San Jose, he frequently attended ballgames at both AT&T Park and the Oakland Coliseum as a kid. Prior to covering the A's, he covered the Earthquakes, San Jose State football, and high school sports around the Bay Area. A self-proclaimed "Burrito Connoisseur," Martin is constantly on the search for the best burrito in each Major League city.